PS1

Free Rain is UrbanLab’s design proposal for a temporary, outdoor installation at MoMA PS1 that provides respite with shade, seating, and water. Free Rain creates an environment that immerses urbanites in the dynamics of the water cycle. Over 300,000 gallons of rainwater fall on the PS1 courtyard every year; in the summer, this ‘virtual’ water footprint is 100,000 gallons. Currently, rain falling on the courtyard flows directly into the sewer. The Free Rain project saves this ‘free’ rain, and uses it to create an artifi­cial watershed at the scale of the museum. Using a series of interconnected cone-shaped bowls, Free Rain collects, cleans, conserves, and harnesses rain. Rainwater circulates between and over the field of funnels to create six unique water-based atmospheres. The atmospheres include a stream, waterfall, splash pool, mister/sprinkler, puddle, and reflecting pool. A circular path of water through these six bowls mimics an important part of the hydrological cycle – as water changes states from polluted to clean, from liquid to vapor, and back again. The Free Rain structure peaks over the museum’s blank courtyard walls and transforms the neighborhood skyline, activating PS1’s outdoor programs rain or shine, and prompting new ways of understanding and living within the city’s water cycle.